Christopher Nolan boldly took the superhero movie in a darker, more realistic direction, which was popular for a time, but now it seems the Nolan approach is starting to wear thin with audiences. Man of Steel certainly wasn’t a rousing fan favorite, and the biggest comic movie success of the past year was a flick starring a sassy raccoon and talking tree.
Now even Nolan’s fellow directors are starting to speak out against his style, as X-Men: First Class and Kick-Ass director Matthew Vaughn did in a recent interview…
“People want fun and escapism at the moment. Look at the success of Guardians of the Galaxy. I think Nolan kick-started a very dark, bleak style of superhero escapism, and I think people have had enough of it.”
Personally, as somebody who enjoyed both Guardians of the Galaxy and The Dark Knight a lot, it all comes to the particular comic series you’re adapting. The grim ‘n’ realistic approach works well for Batman, but it doesn’t work so well for, say, Superman. Really, it’s what sets Marvel Studios apart from DC and Warner Bros. — Marvel tailors the tone of each of their movies to its specific characters, while DC just tries to make another Dark Knight even if they’re doing a friggin’ Plastic Man movie (although now that I’ve mentioned it, I kinda want to see a grimly serious Plastic Man film).
